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At Masterpiece Center for the Arts, instructors rekindle artistic creativity and help students find the medium that best inspires and challenges them. The center’s curriculum spans subjects as diverse as nature photography, henna tattoos, creative writing, and edible arrangements. Along with baseline classes in painting, drawing, and sculpture, students can delve into creating cartoons or glass mosaics, or they can take a 10-week class in cinema-style special-effects makeup.

In the late 1970s, career educators Eileen and Raymond Huntington opened the first Huntington Learning Center in Oradell, New Jersey. Their goal was to take an individualized approach to education, adjusting instructional tactics according to each student's particular set of needs. Their success in helping K–12 students prepare for exams and improve grades and study skills quickly spawned franchises across New York and New Jersey.
Today, the certified Huntington tutoring staff utilizes testing and rubrics for assessing each child's skills, academic needs and potential for growth. The teachers even note the student's behavior in different testing and academic situations to craft a methodology sensitive to each child's learning style. Teachers also adhere to the company's code of ethics that stresses professionalism and confidentiality, encouraging pupils to improve their grades honestly through dedicated study rather than shortcuts.

Manhattan Elite Prep's staff of teachers and consultants carries firsthand experience navigating the complicated labyrinth of school admissions. Some were students whose high test scores and poignant essays got them into top PhD and Ivy League MBA programs. Some consultants served on admissions committees of coveted schools and know what experience, qualities, and acrobatic feats make student applications stand out. Now, this team of insiders at a firm with more than 10 years of experience pools its knowledge to help students who are serious about acing tests and placing in their top schools. They emphasize efficiency, packing as much information as they can into the time allotted, and exceeding beyond minimum requirements. Courses covering entrance tests teach students to work smarter, ruling out wrong answers and budgeting their time wisely, and essay consultants pare down applications to deliver rich content in a limited word count. Customers may complete classes online or interact in-person with their instructors as well as fellow students.

Retiring as the Executive Director of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit after spending more than 40 years in education, Dr. Joseph Lagana couldn't resign himself to just wile away his new excess of free time. With firsthand knowledge of the effects of homelessness on the region's schools, Joe funneled his passion and efforts into creating the Homeless Children?s Education Fund, a nonprofit committed to the advocacy, education, and direct assistance of children experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County. Since its beginning as a humble learning center?just three computers in a closet?Homeless Children?s Education Fund has grown to include 11 facilities where children and their parents can access the Internet as well as find much-needed support through emergency shelters and transitional housing.